


Mirror, Mirror

by AboutBatman (MistyDawn)



Category: DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics), Injustice: Gods Among Us, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Batman - Freeform, Bruce is thinking he made some bad decisions, Clark is oblivious, Dark Clark Kent, Episode: s02e11-12 A Better World, Injustice Gods Among Us, Justice Lords Universe, Lord Batman - Freeform, Lord Superman - Freeform, M/M, SuperBat, Superman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-13 17:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21001574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistyDawn/pseuds/AboutBatman
Summary: Did you kill him?”It’s a question so casually asked by Clark. He’s almost blasé, as if he doesn’t particularly care about which answer he gets. This twisted alternate Superman killed his Batman- killed a version of the man Clark’s married to, and yet he acts indifferent. Bruce should be outraged. Instead he feels the final dredges of a horrible truth dawning on him.“Kill him? No of course not. That would have been a waste don’t you think? A mind like Bruce’s should be put to work.”An accident forces the Justice Lords to meet their Injustice-verse counterparts face to face.





	Mirror, Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> So a few months ago (sorry this took so long lmao) I put out a post asking for Injustice themed prompts. The prompt was _"Since we know the world of Injustice has a lot of open access to the multiverse, I like to think of Superman’s new regime in his ending of the game expands outside of their universe and into another one. Compare and contrast ships and characters to their counterparts of other worlds. Either a very dark and murderous Batman to match the Injustice Superman, or a very wholesome and healthy SuperBat that brings out the absolute best in each other."_
> 
> Wellll I kinda strayed from the original prompt. Didn't get wholesome Superbat or a fully murderous Batman because the Justice Lords were practically demanding to be written lol. This also somehow turned from a small prompt piece into a 6k fic.
> 
> Justice Lords based on Justice League: A Better World s02ep11-12 (Cartoon)  
Injustice Verse based on Injustice: Gods Among Us (Video Game/Comics).
> 
> I would recommend watching the Justice league episode and the Injustice 2 Superman ending on youtube. 
> 
> Enjoy!

One minute they were on the watchtower, kissing in Bruce’s engineering lab and the next they were in a completely empty room. The room seemed eerily familiar, the same shape and the same pipes criss-crossing the ceiling. Only devoid of all equipment and, most importantly, the trans-universe portal machine Bruce had been showing to Lord Superman. Well, attempting to show him, before they got…side-tracked.

In hindsight they probably shouldn’t have been making out up against such sensitive equipment.

“Bruce, what did you do?”

Lord Batman sent him a glare and then paced around the room tapping at the control pad he held in his hand, “Nothing! It shouldn’t have been active yet, I haven’t eve- “

Blaring intruder alarms cut him off and both Lords whirled towards the thick metal door as it was blown off its hinges. A yellow lantern flew in along with Wonder Woman and Black Adam, all three taking defensive stances. Diana’s eyes flicked from Bruce to Clark, her eyes widening as she took in the strange costumes.

“Who are you and what is your business here?”, she snarled.

Equally the two Lords stared back, their gazes assessing the people before them. Bruce gave a slight gasp upon realising the yellow lantern was in fact Hal Jordan._ So…we aren’t in our own universe, _Bruce speculated.

Lord Superman seemed to come to the same conclusion; he squared his shoulders and stepped in front of Bruce before remarking, “Something tells me we aren’t in Kansas anymore.”

* * *

After a tense stand-off and a lengthy argument, the ‘Justice League’ finally believed that the alternate Superman and Batman meant them no harm. They had been zeta beamed to Earth and then bundled into a heavily armoured vehicle for transport through the city to a hulking mass of metal that was embedded into the ground.

It was only after they’d entered that it became clear the building was some sort of alien space craft.

“What city are we in? I didn’t recognise the skyline.” Clark asked Diana as she escorted them through the winding hallways.

“Metropolis. It was destroyed before the war. We’ve had to rebuild it.”

“The war? I take it was aliens?”, Lord Batman gestured vaguely to the extra-terrestrial metal of the walls.

Wonder Woman turned sharply to him and regarded him with cold eyes, “Not quite”.

The corridor ended in a heavy set of double doors, Diana swept inside without pause and then gestured for them to follow. Inside was the command deck of the ship, the controls were centred about a throne-like chair in the middle of the room.

This worlds Superman sat on it looking, for lack of a better word, like a king. His suit was armoured with a silvery metal and the House of El insignia on his chest was lit by a deep violet light. More violet was dispersed throughout the suit with circuit like trails extending down his cape. The silvery material continued up the sides of his neck to wrap around his head in, what Bruce mused, imitated a crown.

Diana stepped forward. “The intruders we found on the Watchtower; they claim to be from another world. Should we- “

Superman silenced her with a raised hand and then swept over to them in three quick strides. On closer inspection, Bruce was unsettled to find the violet light from his costume also encompassed the entirety of the man’s irises.

The other Superman raked his strange eyes over them both, finally settling on Bruce. Lord Superman possessively put one hand on Bruce’s shoulder and stepped forward. The other Kent watched with rapt eyes then settled for a smile and an outstretched hand.

“Welcome, we meant no hostility towards you but I’m sure you understand an alarm on the Watchtower has to be taken seriously, and with faces like yours- “, he trailed off, eyes flicking to Bruce.

Clark took the hand in a strong grip and shook it firmly. “Yes, sorry about the misunderstanding we had a little mishap with some new technology.” He turned to Lord Batman, hand sliding from his shoulder to his lower back.

Bruce took his que and accepted the other Superman’s offered hand. The grip was strong- edging on too strong. Bruce shook it quickly to avoid any lasting damage from the super powered hold. “My fault I’m afraid. I mustn’t have calibrated the settings properly and when we got too close to the machine it accidentally activated and brought us here.”

“Look at that, Batman actually taking credit for his mistakes”, Diana muttered.

The foreign Superman’s violet eyes narrowed as he turned to her, “That will be all for now Wonder Woman, return to your current duties. I will speak to you at the meeting later after I have dinner with our guests”. He put emphasis on the word guests, pouring his disapproval of Diana’s behaviour into the delivery.

Her nostrils flared but with no protest she spun and exited the room swiftly. Kal El followed her with his eyes as she left. When the doors slammed shut, he turned back to the Lords, gaze briefly falling on the hand at the small of Bruce’s back.

“I’ve had a meal prepared for your arrival, why don’t I check on its progress while you two get washed up?"

“That’s very generous of you but we really should be working on a way ba-”.

Lord Superman’s grip tightened on Batman’s back. “Don’t be shy Bruce we can spare an hour or two to have dinner with our generous host”, he chided.

* * *

“He unsettles me Clark.”

Alone in the alien style bathroom the two men faced each other. Light shone in through three slits in the walls and reflected off water that was pooled in a wide basin at the centre of the room. The reflects of light made it seem like the walls themselves were alive and writhing.

“I do admit the purple ensemble is a bit…much”, Clark smiled, “But you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“I don’t know, this all seems a bit fishy to me, the way Diana was acting and the mentions of this ‘war’. Something isn’t adding up”. Bruce reached into his belt and brought out the data pad he had earlier. “I intend to get to the bottom of this.”

Fingers slid across the screen as Lord Batman hacked into the alternate universe’s world wide web. Eyes searching for something, anything that would incriminate Su-there! A news report dated twelve years ago titled ‘Unrest in the Superhero Community’. Bruce scanned the article quickly before relaying the information to Clark.

“Lois Lane died, murdered by the Joker. Superman apparently killed the Joker in retaliation. It seemed to divide the League.”

“The joker? Why would the Justice League split up over that? He’s a madman that got what was coming to him.”

“He didn’t need to die Clark! They could have brought him to Arkham. Could have- “

“Could have what Bruce? Locked him up? Just so he could escape again? He needed to be stopped permanently, he was clearly worse than our Joker, there mustn’t have been another way.”

Bruce’s eyes flashed with anger, “But there was another way to stop him! To keep him in Arkham. Or have you suddenly forgotten the lobotomies you preformed on all of my rogues.”

Lord superman sighed. “Don’t tell me you’re still angry about that,” he put a hand on Lord Batman’s shoulder, “It had to be done.”

Bruce let the tension drop from his shoulders. “I know, at least that way they still live.”

Clark squeezed his shoulder and let his hand drop. “What else did you find?”

“My software isn’t compatible with this worlds’ translation files; it’s having trouble decrypting the data packets so I’m only getting bits and pieces.”

Fingers slid over the screen once more. “But this might be interesting, it’s a news report from five years ago.”

A video started playing as two anchors, a dark eyed man and a woman with loose golden curls falling around her face, welcomed viewers and began relaying the major news story of the day.

_ “Reports are coming in that Batman has released the traitor-criminal Superman from his high intensity red sun prison following increasing hostility from the mysterious alien spacecraft which entered Earths’ atmosphere in the early hours of this morning.” _

The screen panned to a shot of a hulking mass hovering above Central City. The ship was huge with long, sharp tentacles arching out from an intimidating skull-like metal hull.

_“We have yet to hear from the white house correspondent, but the UN has condemned Batman’s actions as rash and reckless; stating his actions could reignite tensions within the Superhero community and provoke another war.” _

The screen crackled as the decryption software struggled to decode the rest of the video.

So, there _was_ a war, but not between supers and aliens like Bruce had originally thought, but between the superhero’s themselves.

Lord Batman turned to Clark, “A traitor…a criminal. Superman did something bad enough that he was locked away.”

“Okay it looks bad, I can agree with you there”, Clark threw his hands up in a placating manner, “But colour me sceptical. You and I know first-hand how bad the media can make a person look!”

Bruce pursed his lips.

Clark continued, “And look at the ship, it’s the one we are standing in! That means he helped Batman win. They must have worked together to beat the aliens.”

Lord Batman was silent, turning information over in his mind. On one hand he had a Superman double that was branded a criminal… on the other, that same Superman clearly helped this worlds Batman when asked, likely helping him stave off an alien invasion.

Before he could speak the screen came back to life. This time it was a more recent news report from only two months ago.

_ “Hellooo citizens of New-Gotham! Good morning and a very warm welcome to New-Gotham News on channel nine!” _

It was the woman from before except her blonde hair was pulled into a harsh bun. She had a large smile on her face, one that showed off a set of pearly white teeth but failed to meet her eyes. Her male co-host was missing.

_ “Today marks the third year of peace since the Legion of Superhero’s put an end to the post-invasion riots which erupted across the country in response to- “ _

Bruce had stopped listening. Images flashed across the screen. Broken cities ablaze and covered in the blood of those that dared defend them. Soldiers clad in black, marching through the streets like an unstoppable tsunami. Bruce felt bile rise in his throat at the familiarity of it all.

_ “-and now the weekly crime report! As usual crime rates are at 0%! This leads us into our third consecutive quarter crime free! Praise to our great leader Superman and his Legion of Superhero’s that have worked tirelessly to make the world a better and safer place!”_

“No crime, that’s amazing! He’s achieved everything we’ve ever fought for, everything we’ve ever wanted.”

“I don’t know Clark. Somethings not right.” The lack of joy in that woman’s eyes. Her smile and body language, it didn’t sit well with Bruce. Everything seemed too perfect. Too forced.

Superman, with a playful twinkle in his eye, wrapped his arms around Bruce’s waist. “Oh face it Bruce you just didn’t like his creepy eyes.”

Lord batman crossed his arms across his chest, or as much as he could in his currently trapped state. “This is serious Clark! We don’t know who this man is or what he’s capable of and you’ve agreed to have dinner with him!”

Lord Superman’s face broke into a grin, “So I shouldn’t get purple contact lenses then?”

Bruce really was trying to resist but he couldn’t help the upturn of his lips at the sight of Clark's smile. "No."

“No, I suppose they wouldn’t suit me. Maybe pink then?”

“Clark”, Bruce laughed and relaxed into the hold, “Stop making jokes.”

“I know I know, it’s _serious_.”

Lord Superman’s face sobered up. “Look we do know him. He’s Superman, I know that whatever he did, there was a good reason for it. Those videos you found mean nothing when compared to the new world he’s created. He’s eliminated crime- made a better world, just like us. Of course there was going to be resistance. There always is when someone attempts to change the status quo, don’t you remember the opposition when we first took over?”

“We’re different! The governments gave us power willingly, here he took it by force! And the protests for us ended once they understood why the Justice Lords needed to happen.”

Even as Bruce said it the words tasted like ash in his mouth, he was trying to remember why the protests disbanded. Did they stop because the people eventually saw the Justice Lords vision? Or were they made to fear for their lives as the most powerful group in the word were given Earth on a silver platter.

Lord Superman cupped Lord Batman’s face, “There’s nothing to worry about Bruce. He did the right thing, made the world safe. Isn’t that what we did? What you’ve always wanted?”

There were cogs turning in Bruce’s head. Dusty ones that had been forcibly buried. Slowly turning. Slowly dredging up repressed feelings and thoughts. They flittered frantically about his head, opening his eyes when he hadn’t even realised they were closed.

_Not like this._

Despite it all he still leaned into the kiss when Lord Superman stepped forward and pressed their mouths together.

Suddenly the doors whooshed open and the other Superman strode in. He stopped dead in his tracks, like a deer in headlights. Bruce would probably have laughed if the entire situation hadn’t had him so unsettled.

Lord superman pulled away from his mouth, but his arms remained firmly around Lord Batman’s waist. “Sorry we weren’t expecting you yet, is everything in order?”

Kal El stood stock still, his eerie eyes were locked on Bruce’s lips. “Ah…yes. Everything is fine.” He seemed to shake himself out of his intensive staring- gaze dropping to the hands around Bruce’s waist for only a brief moment before turning to look Lord Superman in the eyes.

“I’ve been informed dinner is ready to be served,” he smiled and turned quickly on his heels, “If you would like to follow me please.”

* * *

The dining table was metal just like everything else on the ship. It was a long, silvery oval shape with eight silver chairs; three on each side and one at each end of the table. The lords were seated facing each other in the middle seat of each respective side while Kal El took his place at the head of the table.

They sat in silence, other than Kal El drumming his fingers on the table. There was an awkward atmosphere in the room since he had walked in on the two of them kissing.

Bruce had noticed the way he’d looked at them, pupils dilated, lips parted in surprise. It had only been for the briefest of seconds, but Bruce had seen it. The alternate Superman had been surprised. Something beyond surprised, something edging on disbelief. As if the thought of the two of them together had never been a possibility.

It spun a hundred questions in his mind. Had the Superman and Batman from this world never been together? It was completely plausible that in the infinity of the multiverse there would be worlds were the two of them never fell in love, probably worlds where they didn’t even exist. It was a reasonable reaction then.

_No,_ Bruce thought, _there was more in that reaction. Something deeper._

Longing. There in the barest of micro reactions, but it was still there. So maybe they had been together? Maybe the ‘war’ tore them apart?

The drumming fingers stopped. “So, you’re a couple?”

Bruce replies, watching Kal for any reaction. “Yes, married for two years now.”

There’s a slight twitch of the eyebrow and a tendon in the neck that tenses as Kal El swallows thickly.

Lord Superman smiles and reaches to take Batman’s hand over the table. “Although I’m sure you must know how stubborn this one can be,” he squeezes Bruce’s hand, “It took me years before he would even agree to go on a date with me!”

Bruce laughs. “In my defence I was very busy. Running Wayne Enterprises, being Batman and raising an unruly child takes time Clark!”

“Yes, but you finally relented didn’t you.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “It’s not as if I had a choice! You started kidnapping me to bring me on dates!”

Clark's laughing too now. Bruce could watch that laugh for the rest of his life, the way the corners of his eyes crinkled and the slight blush of pink that settled over his perfect cheekbones. Lord Superman had been so stressed as of late-with rewriting the flawed laws of their planet, his laughs had become rare. Become something to be silently treasured by the fellow Lord. When Bruce looked back to the other occupant of the room Kal El wasn’t smiling. He looked lost in his thoughts, staring directly at their joined hands.

Kal’s brows creased as he turned to Lord Superman. “What about Lois?”

Clark's laughter faded to confusion, “What about her?”

“Were you together before you two”, he gestured vaguely to Lord Batman without turning to him, “became a couple?”

Understanding dawned on Lord Superman’s face. “Oh no! Me and Lois have always been friends.”

Lord Batman interjected, “In truth she’s the reason we are together. Kept ringing me threatening to come to Gotham if she had to deal with Clark moping about at the planet for one more day”, Bruce smiles at the memory.

Lord superman bristled in his seat and rolled his shoulders back, “Not that she’ll have anything to do with us since the takeover.”

“Takeover?”

Bruce looked his companion in the eye and willed him not to answer.

_Careful Clark, don’t give anything away._

“We run the United Countries of Earth.”

_Idiot._

Bruce remained silent. There’s no point trying to omit by misdirection now, too much has been said. _We should be getting information from him- not the other way around! _

The other Superman leaned forward, interest tainting his body language. “And what pray tell, brought this about?”

And like a train without tracks Clark opened his mouth again. “The Flash was murdered then Luthor set the world on the brink of world war three. We did what we had to do to ensure peace. The Justice Lords were formed, and the governments of the world conceded absolute rule to us.”

Lord Superman looked to Bruce with a brief smile, “If it weren’t for the two of us working together, I don’t think I could have done it.” Bruce smiled faintly and squeezed his hand before pulling his own away, suddenly feeling uneasy.

“In my world Luthor was nothing more than the CEO of a failing company. How did he manage to start a war in yours?” Superman’s double asked.

Bruce replied, “In ours he was president. And corrupt. The two didn’t go well together.”

“What did you do with him?”

Lord Superman smirked, “The only thing I could in that situation, I killed him.”

Kal El’s eyebrows rose and he looked to Lord Batman. “And you still supported him?”

Lord Superman was his husband and before that his most trusted partner. He _had_ to. “Of course I did. I’m part of the justice Lords.”

Lord Superman smiled and took his hand once more. “He rules by my side, helping me keep order.”

The other Superman stared at their joint hands again. It was an intense stare filled with an emotion close to jealousy. “If only every Batman were as loyal as yours, Lord Superman.”

Bruce let go of Lord Superman’s hand and settled back into his chair. Perhaps it was time for him to steer this conversation towards more informative avenues. “So are you and this worlds Batman together?”

The Superman's counterpart stiffened in his seat. His eyes still shone bright but there was a dark gleam to them. “No. We…were just allies.”

The door at the end of the room smoothly slid open and five bipedal androids, with faces not unlike that of the ship’s hull, came into the room bearing large trays and serving platters of food.

“Robot butlers? I have to say that is a first.” Lord Superman remarked.

“Yes”, the other Superman turned, “I suppose they are rather odd, aren’t they? I ‘inherited’ them when I took control of the ship.”

“In the war?”

Kal El’s eyebrows rose.

Lord Superman shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “Wonder Woman mentioned it when she was transporting us here,” he glanced at Bruce, “She insinuated it involved Batman.”

“Did she now?” Kal leant back as one of the robots served food onto his plate. “Yes, he was involved, he helped me stop an alien invasion.”

The androids finished serving the food and moved to leave. With lightning fast reflexes, Kal grabbed one of them by the arm, “Tell him to bring the wine.”

Bruce had wanted to keep his spying secret, but the man was trying to lie to them. Besides, the trans-universal portal machine was still unfinished, so it didn’t have the capacity to keep them in this universe for long. They had nothing to lose from revealing what they knew.

“Really?” Bruce said. “I had a look through this worlds records and there seems to be a lot more to this particular story.”

For the first time since they’d arrived the other Superman let out a loud laugh. “Oh, that is so _you_ isn’t it? Ever the paranoid one Bruce.” His face was amused but his tone was as rigid as his posture as he stared Lord Batman down.

Kal reached for his silver cutlery and took a moment to sink them into the large piece of meat on his plate. “Me and Lois Lane were married. We were expecting a child together.” He finished cutting and popped the forkful of food into his mouth before chewing thoughtfully, “The Joker killed her and blew up Metropolis- so I killed him.”

Lord superman nodded, “Of course, I would have done the same.”

Bruce can’t help but think of their own Joker. Drooling along with the rest of Batman’s rogues at Arkham after Lord Superman lobotomised them. He hadn’t even asked. Hadn’t told him until it was already done.

Bruce had felt powerless as Superman told him over and over that there was no other way, that it needed to be done to protect the people of Gotham.

Kal El scowled, “Bruce didn’t see the big picture. He always was soft when it came to the Joker, couldn’t take the final step and get rid of him once and for all. Even after what that clown did to _me_, he still resisted. When I killed the Joker, he shunned me, turned his back on the world.”

The fork Kal had in his hand was mangled as the fist holding it clenched. “When I needed him most, he betrayed me. He started an insurgency to defy my regime. There was a war. Needless blood was shed.”

“He opposed you?!”, Lord superman sat back, aghast at the thought.

“Yes. We fought for years. Lost people on both sides”, the other Superman sighed, “He eventually won, using his schemes and trickery.”

Bruce spoke, “What of the alien then?”

Two near identical heads snapped towards him, as if they’d forgotten he was there.

Violet eyes bored into his; Bruce defiantly held his gaze. Challenging the foreign Man of Steel to make his next move.

Superman’s counterpart drummed his fingers on the ornate metal armrest as he regarded Bruce. The side of his mouth curled up ever so slightly as he languidly leaned back in his high-backed chair. “Yes…the alien, his name was Brainiac. He came to Earth in this very ship”, at that proclamation he casually spread his arms out wide- gesturing to the room they were in, “Have you encountered him on your world?”

Both Lords shook their heads. Kal leaned forward toward his plate, he picked up his knife and discarded fork and carefully straightened it out before using them to cut a piece of rich meat which he then brought to his mouth.

He bit down carefully before continuing. “Brainiac is a collector of sorts. He travels from world to world claiming cities and then shrinking them down for his own private compilation. He then destroys the world so that he, and he alone, can have the knowledge that the civilization held- is something wrong with the food Bruce? If it’s not to your liking I’m sure I can arrange something else for you.”

Bruce hadn’t even realised he had stopped eating; too wrapped up in Superman’s story. “No of course not, it’s delicious.” He cut his own slice of meat. It was tender and practically melted in his mouth as the juices ran down his throat. It was coated in a sweet, sticky sauce that should have tasted incredible, yet his taste buds seemed to be unresponsive.

Kal watched his lips as he chewed.

“Batman and his teams’ attempt to stop Brainiac was futile. So, he did what he always does when things become too overwhelming for him- he came to me. He released me from the red-sun cell he himself put me in, on the promise that we work together to eliminate the threat.”

Bruce could feel a wave of anticipation wash over him, Superman’s recount was nearing its crescendo, what that particular crescendo entailed was still unclear to him.

“Together with my former regime allies and Batman’s team we managed to subdue Brainiac and take control of his ship, but not before he had added some of Earths cities to his collection. He was a dangerous foe- too dangerous to keep alive. The logical option was to kill him and for me to bond with the ship so that I could return the cities to where they belonged.”

Bruce felt uneasy. There was tension in the air, buzzing under his skin, closing in on him from all sides. He looked to Lord Superman, but he seemed blissfully unaware of it.

The Superman double sighed, “Batman, of course, was opposed to this. His righteous sense of morality clouded his mind once again. He argued that we needed Brainiac alive.”

Lord Superman cut in, “Surely you could have made him see- made him understand what you were doing was the only right way forward?”

Kal El’s eyebrows drew together as he sat pondering the empty chalice in his hand. Everything was silent for a moment, the room charged with an intense atmosphere as he seemed to be momentarily adrift in his own thoughts.

“No…he was already lost to me by then. Things had gone too far, he was too stubborn to admit he was wrong not to join me, he couldn’t turn back.”

“What did you do?” Lord Superman asked.

“We fought. He drew first blood with a gold kryptonite knife Firestorm had given him,” Bruce notices the spite colouring Kal’s words as he replies. “This time I won.”

The food in Bruce’s mouth is suddenly sour. Those four words induced a sense of foreboding in him, one that made him tense- ready for a fight. He clenched his cutlery with white knuckled hands and fought to get his breathing under control before the other two people in the room noticed his reaction.

“Did you kill him?”

It’s a question so casually asked by Clark. He’s almost blasé, as if he doesn’t particularly care about which answer he gets. This twisted alternate Superman killed his Batman- killed a version of the man Clark’s married to, and yet he acts indifferent. Bruce should be outraged. Instead he feels the final dredges of a horrible truth dawning on him.

“Kill him? No of course not. That would have been a waste don’t you think? A mind like Bruce’s should be put to work.”

Bruce knows they’re still talking, knows he should be listening, but it’s like the final piece of the puzzle is in place, like the wool has been lifted from his eyes and he can finally see.

“With him out of my way I was finally able to create my perfect world,” Kal smiled, “Free from crime, free from pain, free from the horrors that started this all.”

Bruce can’t help asking himself the question of what would have happened if he had opposed Lord Superman. What would Superman have done if he had put his foot down, stopped Luthor’s death, stopped the Justice League takeover. Would Clark have killed him too?

The door smoothly swished open and the other Batman entered.

The pit in Bruce’ stomach dropped- all the dread and apprehension bubbling up into full blown horror. His blood ran cold and suddenly he couldn’t breathe, as if all the air had been sucked from the room. His utility belt beeped quietly but he couldn’t hear it over the blood roaring in his ears.

Batman was wearing a Batsuit to match Kal El’s garment. The same silvery material, the same strange violet light emanating from both the suit and his eyes. Three discs of deep purple light were embedded in his forehead and the bat symbol on his chest was encased in the signature diamond shape of the House of El. The entwined symbols shone with a bright violet light and sat proudly on his chest, almost like a brand of ownership.

Bruce felt sick.

Batman walked toward the dining table, his movements stiff and precise- exactly like a robot. He bore an ornate wine jug in his arms which he used to delicately tip wine into Kal El’s metal goblet.

The other Superman smiled brightly, entranced by the man before him. He turned his gaze away from Batman to look at the Lords. There was madness in his eyes, a burning fever that had scorched his sanity beyond repair.

“Isn’t he magnificent?”

Batman moved toward Lord Superman, who helpfully held his cup up toward the jug. He watched with interest as wine was poured without spilling a drop. “What did you do to him?”

Kal El gestured for Batman to come back to him. He didn’t react as Kal reached up with one hand to cup his chin. “Nothing too detrimental. As I said before, we fought, I won. However, the problem with someone like Bruce is that they’ll never give up.”

Kal traced his finger over Batman’s sharp cheek bones. “I knew losing wouldn’t stop him from trying to imprison me and my comrades all over again- and this time our work was far too important to be interrupted by a coup.” His eyebrows drew together as he spoke, “Diana suggested we kill him. But I think that would be such a waste, wouldn’t it Bruce?”

The other Batman spoke, monotone, “Yes, Kal El.”

Bruce couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath at the words. It was strange hearing himself speak on command with such an emotionless inflection. It sent a spike of sorrow through him, seeing a version of himself so devoid of life.

Superman turned his purple gaze back to the Lords and let his hands fall from Batman’s face, “I had to do it, to keep him safe. I took control, made him see what I see”, a pause, “There was no other way”.

There it is again, Bruce thinks. ‘No other way’. The phrase that encompasses Bruce’s life. It’s built on lies, and guilt, and acquiesce.

The other Batman made his way, with rigid and carefully calculated steps, to stand before Bruce. Lord Batman made no move to give the other his empty cup.

_He has to be in there. _

Bruce watched for any sign of life behind those dull eyes, for any sign that the other Bruce Wayne was in there and fighting. But there was no hidden movements or coded messages in his body language as Batman leaned over and poured the wine.

The bile rose in Bruce’s throat again. Seeing himself like this- like a puppet bound to its master’s whims, it was a nightmare come true.

The belt beeped again.

“What do you think of him?”

Bruce’s head snapped away from Batman. Lord superman was drinking deeply from his metal cup, eyes set on the alternate Batman. Kal El however, was staring directly at him.

“I…I...” Bruce couldn’t speak, he felt trapped in the other man’s gaze, like a bee held in a honeytrap.

Somehow, he knew it was too late to mask his true feelings; Kal knew. He’d seen the horror; the revulsion in Bruce’s eyes.

Kal El smiled and opened his mouth to speak, “I- “

He was interrupted by a loud final drawn out beep as the trans-universal portal opened and violently ripped the Lords from their seats.

* * *

Clark kissed him on the forehead, “Get some rest, won’t you?”

Lord Batman grunted in reply.

“Come on Bruce you aren’t still upset about our little trip across the multiverse, are you?”

It had been a week since the accident that had brought them to that alternate planet Earth. Since then Bruce had been obsessively working at his machine. Spending days in his engineering lab locked away from the rest of the world. Locked away from Lord Superman.

“Upset?”

“Ever since we got back you’ve been acting different. You haven’t come to bed in days! You’ve barely talked to me, and when you do, you’re distant.”

Bruce sighed and put down the tools he had been using. “I’m not upset, or different…I’m fine, I just have a lot of work to do. I can’t let a malfunction like that happen again, the machine needs fixed but that takes time.”

Lord Superman wrapped his arms around Bruce’s waist and turned him so their faces were inches apart. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “Yes.”

“Mmhm”, Clark tightened his hold and lowered his voice, “Well in that case…why don’t we have dinner tonight? We can even have it here at the Watchtower, so you don’t have to travel far. How about 7pm in my old quarters?”

The suggestive undertones weren’t lost on Bruce, yet the thought of being intimate with Clark repulsed him. It was true he had been cold to Lord Superman since they returned, he couldn’t help it. Not after he’d seen what the other Superman was capable of, not after he’d finally realised what his husband had already done- what he had sat back and allowed to happen.

But he had already been acting suspicious, he couldn’t risk Clark investigating his behaviour further.

_I can’t say no. _

Bruce let a small smile lift his lips, “Yes…of course,” he swallowed thickly, “…I’d like that.”

Lord Superman smiled and kissed him. Bruce felt nothing.

Clark broke the kiss. “Wear one of your nice Armani suits. You know I like them.” Bruce nodded and Clark gave him one final peck on the lips before sweeping from the room.

He stood for a moment in silence. Contemplating his next steps. He had work to do. There were other worlds out there, this recent trip proved that.

He needed a plan, he needed to work on the technology, fine-tune it. Find a world that would fit his plans. One that wasn’t twisted and tainted like his. One where Clark hadn’t been corrupted and where Batman and Superman were still part of a team that strived to make the world a better place, not control it.

Bruce walked over to his tool strewn work bench and resumed his work.

He couldn’t let this continue.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> I am a gremlin for comments so please feel free to tell me what you thought!
> 
> Come see me on my Tumblr [aboutbatman!](https://aboutbatman.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Title from Star Trek:TOS- Mirror, Mirror: S02ep04


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